1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ergonomically efficient tool having a bendable handle allowing more efficient use of certain tool heads. The invention also relates to a tool having a telescoping feature in the handle, allowing the handle to be lengthened or shortened to accommodate the height of a user and make the tool more ergonomically efficient for the user. In another embodiment, a coupling mechanism allows attachment of more than one tool head to the handle.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Background Information
Commonly, hand-operated tools are provided with a simple elongated handle which is permanently and rigidly attached to the tool head. The tool head is then operated by manipulation of the handle. The angle at which the handle is affixed to the tool head is determined by the manufacturer. That angle is not adjustable, and the handle is not easily removable from the tool head. Accordingly, the angle at which the handle is attached to the tool head dictates the movement of the handle needed to accomplish the desired operation of the tool head. When considering the functions performed by specific tools, inefficiencies or inconveniences are inherent in tool heads having attached to them straight handles at a fixed angle. These inefficiencies or inconveniences can vary, depending upon the location of the task being performed and by the physical height of the individual using the tool.
In the case of a number of special tasks, the conventional elongated handle requires the user to stoop or bend over to accomplish the desired objective. Repetitive bending and stooping is tiresome and makes the job at hand more difficult. This is usually primarily an issue of efficiency, but in the case of some elderly or infirm persons, certain tasks cannot be performed at all. Further, some tasks are made more difficult by the lack of a handle. For example, the cleaning of a hot barbecue grill with a wire brush can be uncomfortable and may result in a burned hand. Scraping bricks or other rough surfaces with a wire brush is well known to produce skinned knuckles. In yet other situations, a tool may not be as efficiently maneuvered in tight spaces using a prior art handle.
Accordingly, there is a need with respect to certain tasks or operations for construction of a tool, and in particular the tool handle, which reduces stooping and bending, that keeps the tool head close to the work area while removing the user's hand from the work surface, and that increases maneuverability of the tool.
For example, the use of a brush to scrub a surface may require a certain amount of stooping over, depending upon the height of the surface to be scrubbed and the height of the tool user. In other circumstances, it would be useful to alter the angular relationship of the handle to the tool head from that found in a standard straight handle, such as in the case of a scrub brush.
Some efforts have been made to address the inefficiency of the standard straight-handled tool. The ergonometrically designed tool handle described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,343, Nisenbaum, describes a tool handle bent in three places with an offset hand grip midway down the handle. However, the Nisenbaum handle angles cannot be adjusted, nor can the handle be varied in length.
Similarly, the materials handling device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,769, Odorisio, discloses a materials handling device handle bent at two angles to facilitate the user's ability to bring substantially maximum force on the materials handling device, a snow-removal plow. The bends in the Odorisio handle are designed to facilitate the user's ability to push the material handling device in a forward direction, rather than facilitating the user's ability to lift materials vertically, as with a spade. Moreover, the Odorisio handle bends cannot be adjusted, nor can the handle be lengthened or shortened.
A snow shovel with handle-mounted ice chopper is disclosed in Zeisig, U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,699. In Zeisig a snow shovel handle is bent upward at an acute angle from the blade portion of the device and is reverse bent at the same angle. This configuration is salutary in that it allows snow to be shoveled while the shoveler stands erect. However, the bends of the handle in Zeisig are fixed, and the handle cannot be lengthened or shortened.
A brush having a handle bendable at two points is disclosed in Lay, U.S. Pat. No. 1,268,734. The brush handle in Lay is adjustable, allowing the brush to reach a greater number of points, but the brush is confined to the same plane as the handle. The Lay brush is designed to be not excessively heavy.
A handle is disclosed in Hoffman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,758, which is adjustable and extendable. However, as is Zeisig, the Hoffman handle is configured entirely in the plane of the tool head with which it is used.
For specialized tools, a number of successful efforts have been made to provide handles which do a superior job of accommodating the user and allowing more efficient use of the tool. For example, Shea, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 360342, discloses a tool handle with a single bend in the handle for use with what appears to be a snow shovel. Vosbikian, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,663, discloses a flexible dust mop handle. The handle has a rigid upper portion and a flexible lower portion, enabling use of the mop in difficult-to-reach places without bending or stooping on the part of the user. Lay, U.S. Pat. No. 1,268,734, discloses a brush having a handle bendable in two places for use with a light brush. Lay relates to a handle having angles disposed within the same plane wherein is also disposed the attached tool head.
Various other types of tool handles have been disclosed in the art, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 1,427,865, Szabo; U.S. Pat. No. 2,221,219, Nelson; U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,929, Cotman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,398, Poulin; and U.S. pat. No. 4,848,818, Smith; and French Patent No. 57597, Gaouyer.
None of the described tool handles solve the above-described needs and problems in the art. Accordingly, there is a need with respect to certain tasks or operations for construction of a particular tool handle which reduces stooping and bending, keeps the tool head close to the work area while removing the user's hand from the work surface, and that increases maneuverability of the tool head.